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-NiTnn rA'rns RUSSELL s. PENNIMAN AND JOHN G. SOHRADER, or 'novna EwJERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO THE ATLANTIC DYNAMITE 1 coMPANY, THE REPANNOCHEMICAL COMPANY, AND HE nnnounns row'naa COMPANY.

G ELATlNATED EXPLOSIVE.

v SPECIPICATJION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333.151., datedDecember 29, 1885.

i Application filed January 22, 1885. I Serial No. 153,611. (Nospecimens.)

the following specification is a clear,true, and

complete description of our invention.

IO In the production ofour improved'compounds we employ nitrate of:ammonia and gelatinated"nitro-glycerine of any kind, as, for instance,such as is described in the United States Letters Patent of Nobel,No.175,735,

dated April 4, 1876. baid Letters Patent also describe the use ofnitrate of ammonia in compounds with gelatinated nitro-glycerine; but.said Letters Patent contain no reference to th-e deliquescent tendenciesof the nitrate of ammonia,and apparently leave it to be assumed that thegelatinated-nitro-glycerine will serve as a protecting medium for thehitrate, when in fact it serves so imperfectly as a protector that saidsuggested compound has,

as we believe, never been produced in apractical way for actual service.We find that whether the gelatinated explosive has the consistence ofas'olid jelly, orthatfof ordinary sirups, if it be mixed with thenitrate even in o its best dehydrated condition, the exposed or surfaceparticles of nitrate soon become by ,drated, and that the remainder ofthe nitrate gradually assumes a similar condition, and rendeis thecompound of little value. We

- also find that it is exceedingly difficult in a practical way toobtain properly dehydrate nitrate of ammonia, and quite impossible to.prevent its becoming more or less charged with moisture du ng theexposure thereof, 40 and the delays incident to the practicalmanufacture of explosives.

One object of our present invention is to produce a" compound containinggelatinated nitroglycerine anddehyd'rated nitrate of aid 5 monia whichwill be free from deliquescent tendencies, and this we accomplish bycombining with the gelatinated-explosive special- Ily protected nitrateof ammonia, or, in other words, each grain or particle of said nitrate Ii has a jacket or envelope which in itself will phere. This envelope orjacket maybe. varied in its character; but we prefer to use what-is ofAmmonia, which is described inthe application of Russell S. Penniman,Serial No. 113,217, and for the purposes of'this specification it may bedescribed, when in its best form, as grains of nitrate of ammonia whichtroleum; but it willalso be within our preswith such hard or solidmatter as hard paraf fine or stearine, which must first be melted ordissolved in volatile solutions, and applied in the form of a varnish tothe nitrate. The hard coatings last described can be fairly re pounds,because the gelatinated explosive will particles of coated nitrate witheach other during the mixing operationas' to impair the protectingcapacity ofv their coatings.

Said Letters Patent of Nobel in describing nated nitro-glycerine referto such compounds as having less concentration of power than thegelatinated explosive when employed separately,andthat'is obviously thecase when or 'dinary nitrate of ammonia is employed,- as thereindescribed; but we find that some of our compounds containing the nitratethoroughly dehydrated, and well protected as by us, have'practically thesame effective force and the same concentration of power as an equalbulk of the gelatinated explosive. Said Letters Patent of N obel-alsodescribe the use of ordinary nitrate of ammonia in connection withcharcoal; and while such. coal or other solid carbonaceous matter may beemployed in connection with the protected nitrate without departure fromour invention, we are enabled be wholly dispense therewith, and therebyto obtain greater specific gravity of the compound, because the coatingsof the grains of nitrate are carbonaceous, and they are of so littlebulk that they do not materially increase the bulk of the nitrate.

l f It is to'be understood that the proportions have a soft jacket orenvelope composed of, the soft or viscous educts or products of peliedupon in gelatinated nitroglycerine comthe use of nitrate of ammonia withthe gelati effectually protect the nitrate from the atniosknown to us as*Penni inans Protected Nitrate cut inventionifthe grains of nitrate becoated generally prevent such abrasive contact of the of the protectednitrate of ammonia and of the '1 gelatinated explosive may beindefinitely varied without departurefrom our invention. If thePennirnan protected nitrate of ammonia be notwavailable we'proceed toproduce the same, as follows: The nitrate of ammonia is first thoroughlydehydrated and granulated 'by methods well known tochemists, and witheach one hundred pounds we combine by to thOrOughlymixing therewith fromten to twelve per cent. of eosmoline or some one of the other similarproducts of petroleum. The gelatinated nitro-glycerine is variablyprepared, according to the consistency re- 'quired, As, for instance, ifgelatinated explosive is to be of the consistency of heavy sirup, thenfrom two to four per cent. ofnitrated cotton is dissolved in thenitro-glycerine while properly heated,and from fourto ten per cent ofsaid nitrated cotton may be employed for pro sducing gelatinatedglycerine in various conditions of consistency, even up to what may betermed a solidjelly. i 1

- It is well known that gelatinated nitro-glyc- 2' erine is especiallysusceptible to freezing,

and when mixed with ordinary nitrate of am- .monia it is none the lessso; but if the Penniman protected nitrate of ammonia be employed thecompoundis much less readily 3o frozen into a solid 'mass than ifordinary unprotected nitrate were used, it being obvious that the softcoating ofthe grains of nitrate will not harden at such temperature aswill harden the gelatinated'nitro-glycerine. '5 If it be desired toproduce a compound having in each cubic inch an effective force equal toor greaterthan a corresponding bulk of the ,gelatinated explosive, weprefer to use a gelatinated explosive capable, when in fit condi- 0-tion for use, of actually holding the protected nitrate in suspension;as, for instance, by em ploying, say, six (6) per cent. of the nitratedcotton with the nitro-glycerine. W'ith twentyfive parts of the protectednitrate we-inix seventy-five parts of such gelatinated explosive.Cartridges of this compound may be relied upon for performing a servicegreater than if the same cartridges were filled with the gelatinatedexplosive alone, and even when the compound is composed of equal partsof the protected nitrate of ammonia and gelatinated nitro-glyccrine itcan be relied upon for performing the same effective service as the saidgelatinated explosive.

The proportions of the gelatinated explosive to the protected nitratemay be widely varied; but there should seldom, if ever, be

less of the gelatinated explosive than enough to afford its practicallycomplete continuity throughout the mass.

Vith the protected nitrate, much less of the gelatinecan berelied uponin producing conipounds of the lowest grades than when o'rdinary orunprotectednitrate is employed, because the pores of the grains ofnitrate are already filled with the soft coating, and also because the'gelatine can be more readily and evenly distributed over the coatingthan upon thesurface of the grains.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent An explosivecompound composed of gelatinated nitro-glycerine andgrains of protectednitrate of ammonia, substantially as described. RUSSELL S. PENNIMAN.

J OHN Q. SGHRADER.

Witnesses: v WM S. WHITE,

JAs. H. NEIGHBOUR.

